Of course, if all of this doesn’t sound to your liking, you can easily tweak the game to your own personal design. Railguns only? No problem. 1HP insta-death mode? No problem. 5 HP, sniper rifle only, low gravity, semi dark maps? No problem. Want to make you own map? Go for it! ShootMania Storm comes with an extensive suite of modding tools and very few limits. If you don’t like one of the maps in the game, balance it to your own liking. If you want to make your own game type, go ahead. You’ll find races, variations of tag, old school “defuse the bomb” maps, and even an interesting game mode where you play a sniper, shooting at opponents running through a maze. You have an incredible amount of liberty with this game engine, so go wild.

Of course, there are some flaws. For one, there is no single-player to speak of. This, combined with the lack of any sort of progression or level-up system, may give the game a short shelf life for gamers who are used to Call of Duty or even Team Fortress 2. There’s nothing to work toward, no numbers to watch go up, no Skinner box to keep you pressing the food button. The only thing keeping you here is the versus gameplay, and if the community doesn’t keep coming out with new maps or game modes, you’ll have little reason to sign back on and play the same game you played 100 times before.

Graphics and audio also aren’t ShootMania Storm’s strong points. The sound effects are pretty generic, and yes, this does get repetitive. With a game that hinges off community map support, you’ll find that lots of maps look the same and use the same elements that you have seen time and time again. The game runs smoothly, even on low-end PCs, but the arenas you play in feel as generic as the sound design. Your environments are little more than a collection of walls to shoot people in, and you never get a sense of personality that you get from modern day shooters.

Still, ShootMania Storm is a breath of fresh air in this world of carbon-copy military shooters. It’s a new take on an old genre that will satisfy anyone who grew up alongside the early shooters. If you were one of those kids who snuck a copy of Doom onto the PCs in your school’s computer lab, ShootMania Storm will make you giddy. It’s a game that knows what it is: an arcade-style FPS, and nothing more.

ByAngelo M. D’Argenio
Contributing Writer
Date: April 11, 2013

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.0

GraphicsThe unfortunate reality of arcade-style shooters is that they simply don’t try to astound us with fancy graphics.

4.0

ControlThe controls are incredibly responsive, and they have to be in a game that demands twitch reflexes.

Play ValueIf you like arcade shooters, this will keep you entertained for a while.

3.7

Overall Rating - GoodNot an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend

0.1 - 1.9 = Avoid

2.5 - 2.9 = Average

3.5 - 3.9 = Good

4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy

2.0 - 2.4 = Poor

3.0 - 3.4 = Fair

4.0 - 4.4 = Great

5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

An unlimited gaming world customized for you - Whether they are classic or developed exclusively for ShootMania Storm, the wide variety of maps and gaming modes offered within the game or created by the community will allow you to live constantly changing experiences.

Innovative intuitive gameplay - Accessible to many and allowing the best to stand out, ShootMania guarantees fun from the first game to the last.

Tailor-made for competition - Experience a fight at any time in a spectacular world. The many competitions held on ShootMania Storm offer the best sporting atmosphere.

Pure multiplayer delirium - Many players can take each other on simultaneously! The "matchmaking" system allows players to easily connect to a server on their level, whether for pure enjoyment or competition.

Create your own game - With its map and script editors, numerous communication tools, Machinima sharing and editing tools, etc., ShootMania Storm offers everyone the opportunity to create and share their own game.